Post by Paula Padrino Vilela

"My biggest contradiction is that I wish my business didn't exist." That is what restoration entrepreneur Barbara Pacheco, co founder of VerdeNovo Sementes Nativas told me as we sat by the riverside in Irituia, Pará. Barbara has spent more than a decade building a business around ecological restoration. Yet she often says she wishes her business didn't exist—because in an ideal world, there would be no degraded land to restore. In this article, I share the story of our journey to Irituia, in the Brazilian Amazon, where Barbara is launching her first project in the region, working with women from a local cooperative to build a new network of seed collectors for ecological restoration. Along the way, we met Joana D'Arc, a quiet but strong community leader whose agroforestry journey has inspired other women to experiment, plant, and produce. It quickly became clear why Barbara saw her as the ideal partner to help lead this work. I was lucky to witness first hand Barbara's conviction that restoring land starts with empowering people. The exchange of knowledge between Barbara and the women of Irituia was a reminder that successful restoration grows from relationships, trust, and local leadership. I hope you enjoy the read! UN Convention to Combat Desertification Instituto Terra World Resources Institute #FundoFlora G20 Global Land Initiative